U.S. to Resume Shipping Transuranic Waste Drums from Savannah River Site to WIPP for Permanent Disposal

The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) will resume shipping remote-handled transuranic waste drums from the Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico for permanent disposal on July 28, 2026. Prior to resuming shipments, relevant teams have completed flammable gas analysis, confirming that these waste containers meet safety requirements for transport to the underground disposal facility.

Flammable gas sampling is a critical safety step before transuranic waste transportation. Workers assess potential combustion risks inside containers by detecting gases such as hydrogen, methane, and volatile organic compounds, and confirm their safety during transport and disposal. This analysis is particularly crucial for legacy waste drums that have been stored for extended periods, as waste composition and long-term storage conditions inside containers may lead to the generation of flammable gases.

The remote-handled transuranic waste involved in this shipment has higher radioactivity levels than contact-handled transuranic waste, requiring specialized equipment for remote operations to reduce worker exposure risks. Due to the difficulty in processing and characterizing some legacy waste drums, SRS still retains a batch of more complex waste containers awaiting disposal.

A representative from Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS), the contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management, stated that characterizing these containers is an important step in ensuring transuranic waste is safely and compliantly transported from South Carolina to WIPP for permanent disposal. The team must work in accordance with established procedures and control measures to ensure personnel safety and advance the disposal mission.

In recent years, SRS has shipped most of its legacy transuranic waste to WIPP. Despite the increasing difficulty of subsequent waste processing, the team has continued to exceed the annual target of 12 waste drums shipped to WIPP, completing 18 drums last year and 24 drums the year before. Since the SRNS contract began in 2008, the contractor has shipped a cumulative total of 929 transuranic waste shipments to WIPP.